It’s almost the end of November and that can only mean one thing. That’s right, this month’s UnReview!
So far we have knocked out Scott Stratton’s UnMarketing and Gary Vaynerchuck’s Crush It! and I’m sure that you were wondering when I would get around to Chris Brogan. Well, now you have your answer: November.
I read Trust Agents
Reaction 1: As with UnMarketing and Crush It!, the book is packed with practical and inspiring advice. You almost feel overwhelmed by the wealth of knowledge bestowed upon you.
Learning can be a painful process, but sometimes you just have to pick up the pieces and move on.
Reaction 2: This is one of those books where you want to have a notebook with you while you read it so you can catch all the great ideas. It also helps if you implement the ideas along the way. Even if you don’t fully understand the topic being presented.
Needless to say, Sharkball was quickly banned by the government and I was forced to go to more conventional methods and think about my audience and community when creating a new game.
Reaction 3: Social Capital is a topic referred to in the book a lot. It’s so important, I decided to go ahead and make the most out it, caution to the wind!
I earned a total of $0.03. It seems Social Capital must be spent in others ways. It will not buy you an Xbox 360. Once I started spending it in ways that would build my business online, things really hit their stride.
Reaction 4: Everything in the book is so practical and applicable. Even things they take from classic literature are immediately able to be put into practice.
Chris explained the idea of leverage to me as I cleaned up the poop. That was the day I learned never feed an owl beans. It was also the day I learned that Chris Brogan shows his exasperation with you in hashtags. Neat!
Reaction 5: Trust Agents was amazingly inspiring. Once I was done I had a HUGE list of things to put into practice. Both Chris and Julien are miles ahead of me in practice, but I think if I hustle, I can easily catch up with the plans they’ve laid out in their book.
The zoo took their camel back and Julien helped me lay out surmountable goals that would lead me in the direction I needed to go. Man, those guys are cool.
Trust Agents is a book I have come back to time and time again. When I really decided to amp up my actions online, it really helped me to understand where I was going and also how to get there. Their sections on becoming “One of Us” and being a “Human Artist” helped me shape how I interact online and how I advise clients.
If you haven’t read it yet, get it from Amazon
Have you read Trust Agents? What did you think of it? Leave your comments below and let’s discuss.
Maybe Chris or Julien will stop by too, you don’t want them to think you didn’t like their book now, do you? You should probably like this post on Facebook too, just to be safe.
See you next month and I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Tags: book review, Chris Brogan, Julien Smith, marketing, social media, Trust Agents, unreview
There has been so much taking things too seriously or finding discord and exploiting it, this playful, yet keen take on things is a treat. Also, I am a sucker for illustrative interludes. And alliteration apparently.
Great post!
Amanda_Magee Thanks Amanda, I'm a sore sucker for satirical stanzas as well. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll check out some other posts or subscribe.
Happy Holidays! : )
joey_strawn Like a moth to the flame. Your reply just earned more of my attention.
Amanda_Magee : )
Hey Joey, it's ME Ingrid lol ;)
For some reason, I can't change my livefyre name :(. Oh well!
This is brilliant. I love this UnReview series of yours! And I can't believe this is the first one I come across. Needless to say, I'll be going back to your blog to read the others after this.
I like Danny's idea of sending you books or lima beans to review. Maybe you could spend your days just doing that haha. But seriously though, it's a great idea. And the comic doodles are pretty fabulous - especially to someone like me who can barely draw stick figures for people.
Looks like I need to re read Trust Agents as I have a shit load left to learn. Hope saying shit is okay here cause I kinda used it twice now haha.
Great job Joey! I look forward to reading more of these my BU pal!
Cheers
PS - Note to Gini D. aka that Rockin' Spin Sucks gal - Gore didn't invent the interwebs silly - Bush did - all while being hooked on phonics.
Griddy Ingrid! It's good to see you again and I'm thrilled you enjoyed the UnReview. Please, begin sending me lima beans and books in the mail for me to review. It's also okay that you said "shit". If you read enough of my posts, you'll see me say it too. So no worries.
I had to re-read it for this review and am always a little stunned by how much I've forgotten or missed the first times through.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I look forward to more of your awesomely long comments. Keep 'em coming!
joey_strawn Griddy Um, I think it was Dan Quayle that was hooked on phonics.
ginidietrich joey_strawn Hmmm... You make a good argument Gini. Maybe they took the same speech class together lol. But I'm pretty sure that Bush graduated Magna Cum Laude :).
Griddy joey_strawn Um. Pretty sure that was Obama.
ginidietrich Griddy Roosevelt?
joey_strawn ginidietrich Hehehehe, Sorry for the late reply kids :). That whole time difference thing is a bummer sometimes. Did Bush even graduate? lol Kidding!
Joey, I LOVE your UnReviews. You should start a section where people send in their favourite business books, and you unreview them. Or comics. Maybe we should send comics. Or lima beans.
DannyBrown I'll review and book or lima bean you send me. I try to stick to one review a month, so I've got a running tally of books, but I'm always open for suggestions. Or just mail me a book you want me to draw shitty comics for. : )
joey_strawn Done! :)
Joey,
This is a great review. Thanks for putting a smile on my face this morning and a fire under my... seat... to go re-read Trust Agents. :-)
briandshelton Thanks Brian, I re-read it to do the UnReview and I'm glad that you're going to go back to it as well. I learn something new each time I read it.
What a total blast! This is great. Thank you so much for sharing it. : )
I do appreciate the comics, too. I draw a fair bit, and I love your sensibilities in the drawing.
chrisbrogan From what I can tell Chris, you are a much better artist than I am, but I'm thrilled that you liked the post. I got so much out of the book and wanted to give a little something back and if I can get a few people interested in buying it, that's just my holiday gift to you.
Thanks for reading and commenting and have a Happy Thanksgiving!
you do realize you have no Tweeting button on here right?
faybiz Hmm, there's supposed to be one floating to the left of the post, but I'll see if I can add one to the top too. Thanks!
joey_strawn now that you mention, i see it on top, but hard to see as it is obscured by the text
faybiz I went ahead and added one on the bottom too, just to be safe. Thanks for letting me know about it.
joey_strawn faybiz Joey, check you have the latest version of Digg Digg, as it's not scrolling mate.
DannyBrown Thanks, I'll check that now.
joey_strawn One I'm running at the minute is 4.5.0.2 (sweet Jeezus, the dev guy likes his numbers!!!)
DannyBrown Weird, that's the version I have too and I just reset the floating display setting and it' still not doing it. Strangeness.
J- read Whuffie Factor? I preferred it
faybiz I'll definitely check it out, thanks!
:)
Is the comics yours? They're awesome! Would've preferred it if the text was bigger, though.
Cheers!
danny Thanks Danny! Yeah, they are all mine, I draw them out, scan them in and size them accordingly. I'll be sure to make next month's text bigger for you. (I was assuming you were talking about the text in the comics in that last sentence).
Thanks for the comment!
Who is Chris Brogan? Funny review. But I only read books by people I have heard of like Tolkien, Burroughs, Thompson, Breathed, Trudeau. I find most business books very uninspiring and filled with common sense things I read every day in the trade pubs, the Economist, Business Week, and Blogs like Joey Strawns. But I would love to read your comics I see you have potential! Either way I can lend you some of my social capital. I will have to Wiki Chris Brogan.
HowieSPM I'm glad that I made the list of people you enjoy reading and if you like the comics here, be sure to check out the other UnReviews from the tab at the top. I'm surprised you haven't heard of Chris Brogan, but no worries. His books have taught me a thing or two, but I know how you feel about business books. Only recently have I gotten into the habit of reading them outside of work.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
HowieSPM Chris Brogan invented the interwebs
joey_strawn Uh. HowieSPM is screwing with you.
DannyBrown HowieSPM Um. Al Gore invented the interwebs.
ginidietrich HowieSPM Yeah, I thought about that after I replied. It's early, that's my excuse, not my inveterate gullibility. Yeah, definitely not that.
joey_strawn HowieSPM (cough!)
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